As is known in the art, many applications require flip-chip mounted, Coplanar Waveguide (CPW), Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (e.g., “module-less” systems, panel array technology or any other application where ribbon or wire bonds are excluded). However, CPW MMIC devices are typically more difficult to design than microstrip MMICs because they are typically less available, and usually exhibit degraded performance compared with its microstrip realized counterpart; particularly at higher frequencies of operation. For this reason, it is preferable to utilize more readily available, lower cost and higher performance microstrip MMIC devices in applications that require flip-chip technology.
As is also known in the art, in “module-less” applications, the electrical ground and thermal interfaces are typically opposite sides of the MMIC; whereas in a traditional microstrip environment, electrical ground and the thermal interface share the common back side of the MMIC. Separating the thermal interface from all electrical interfaces (including the electrical ground) enables the chip to be mounted directly on a printed circuit board (PCB), also sometimes also referred to as a printed wiring board (PWB), without the need for ribbon or wire bonds.